Home
by scaenica
Summary: On her quest to slay the World Eater, the Dragonborn makes a quick stop in Riften to have a talk with her favorite thief about their future. Oneshot.


_[A/N: I'm not making any progress with the new chapter for 'Stormcrow' (writer's block, you wicked thing), so I wrote another little oneshot to get my mind off it. Ysabel just got back from the Dawnguard ('Evenfall') and makes a quick stop in Riften to visit a particular red-haired handsome thief. Kind of a sequel to a story that already spooks around in my head but that I still have to actually write down. _

_Rated T for language. (Be warned: Ysabel tends to swear a lot.)_

_Hope you enjoy it. :3 ]_

* * *

_We laugh until we think we'll die_

_barefoot on a summer night_

_Nothin' new is sweeter than with you_

_And in the streets we're running free _

_like it's only you and me_

_Geez, you're somethin' to see_

_Ahh, Home_

_Let me come Home_

_Home is wherever I'm with you_

- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

* * *

Ysabel stretched out on the broad bed and nestled up to Brynjolf's side, one arm possessively lain over his chest. He pulled her closer, running his fingers through her dark hair and eyed her with concern when she unsuccessfully tried to suppress a yawn. "Maybe you should stay the night."

"Mhm." Too lazy to reach up to his lips, she put a kiss on his shoulder instead. "I can't. I have to be in Windhelm by morning, I still need to convince Jarl Ulfric to go to that damn peace conference. Gods, I hate politics. Killing a dragon is easy compared to dealing with those fuckheads."

He chuckled slightly. "Really, lass?"

"Absolutely. Might be easier if I gave a fuck about their war, but I don't. And the Jarl of Whiterun won't help me trap a dragon in Dragonsreach until they agree to a truce." She sighed and then couldn't help but yawn again. She moved a bit, until she laid perfectly comfortable in Bryn's arms. The older thief folded one arm behind his back and held her with the other, his fingers lightly caressing her shoulder. "So how come you ended up fighting vampires?"

Ysabel grinned guiltily. "That's a long story." She had only arrived two hours ago and stopped by in the Cistern for a minute before they had adjourned to Honeyside. And since then, it wasn't exactly talking that they'd had on their minds… Sighing inwardly at the thought that she'd have to leave him soon, she traced the defined muscles on his chest and stomach with her finger, and her foot rubbed gently against his thigh. He was just too damn handsome... She really didn't want to think about all those girls dangling around him while she was gone... "I got attacked three times by those bastards and the third time someone from the Dawnguard happened to be around. He helped me finish them off, we got to talk for a bit and I thought I'd check it out. Then one thing kind of let to the other, you know how it is."

"I know how it is _with you_", he grinned and she jokingly punched his arm. "Shut up, idiot. Anyway, we found out about this vampire who tried to permanently block the sun so his kind could walk around by day. I guess at that point I couldn't just walk away."

Brows furrowed, Bryn shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder if you're deliberately looking for trouble, lass, or if trouble's looking for you." She punched him again and giggled when he screwed up his face and demonstratively rubbed his arm.

She snuggled against him again and smiled almost unwillingly when he caught her hand on his chest and held it at his heart. "So, how are things with the guild?"

"We're doing pretty well." With the pad of his thumb he gently stroke over the back of her hand. "They eyes would have helped, but at least Nocturnal's luck's back with us."

"Mhm", she grumbled. Unfortunately, the Eyes of the Falmer had vanished with Mercer Frey, along with the cumulated wealth of the guild which left them with practically nothing. Gods knew where Mercer was, that disgusting traitorous bastard… It was kind of her fault that he was gone, though. No, it was_ very much_ her fault. Luckily, Bryn had the decency not to mention that. He probably didn't want to be reminded of what had happened, either. Still, sometimes she wondered why he wasn't a bit more angry with her for all the stupid shit she had done.  
Well, at least she had gotten the Skeleton Key back to Nocturnal before the former Guild Master had snatched that from her, too.

"No sign of Mercer, by the way", Bryn said quietly. Damn him, was he reading her thoughts now? "We're still looking but, honestly, I don't think we're gonna find him. So it's not really worth the effort." She did notice the change in his voice, the undertone of bitterness and anger, though he hid it quite well. She felt exactly the same, but for slightly different reasons… It didn't really matter, though. The man had betrayed them all, in whatever ways.  
"You're probably right." She left it at that. No reason to stir around in that issue.

They laid there for a few minutes in silence, both lost in their thoughts. After a while, Ysabel continued: "You know, I thought, when all this is over - if I survive it, that is, then we could-"

"Lass", Brynjolf interrupted her and he suddenly looked so dead serious it scared her. "Don't_ ever _say that again. At least when I'm around." Perplexed, Ysabel broke loose from his embrace, as she pushed herself up on her elbows to look down at him. "Bryn, what-"

He cut in again and this time, he sounded almost furious, which was definitely alarming when he normally was gentle as a lamb. "It's hard enough _knowing _you're out there somewhere and might not come back. I think about it often enough, I don't want to _hear_ it from you as well while you're here."

She should have kicked his sorry ass out of her house for telling her what to do and what not to do, and normally, she would have. Instead, she all she could to was looking down at him and fighting the tears back she suddenly felt rising. _Damn it. Damn the legend, damn the world, damn fucking Alduin._

"Bryn, I don't _want_ to do this. I'd tell them to go screw themselves and look for some other idiot to pose as a hero. But… I can't. I just can't. If I stay, I take the risk that everything goes to Oblivion… how the fuck should I be able to with? Just pretend everything's normal?" Clutching her teeth together, she angrily wiped her watery eyes with the back of her hand. She wasn't going to cry like a little girl, damn it!

"I'm not telling you what to do, lass." His voice was the normal, gentle grumbling again. He reached up and brushed a lock of her brown hair behind her ear. "And I don't care how long it takes you. When you come back, I'll be right here waiting for you. Just… don't remind me that I might lose you. Don't talk about not coming back. Can you do that for me?"

She bit her lip and cursed herself for her outburst. She was a master thief, a warrior trained by none other than the Companions in Jorrvaskr, a legend and hero, a slayer of dragons … and here she sat whining about her fate. Apparently, she was getting soft. And what was even worse, she had completely blocked out the fact that those people who cared about her - as few as it were - had to let her go and watch as she took the high road to perdition.

_This is why you don't allow anyone to come near you. People get hurt._

Wait, wasn't that exactly what Serana had said? And she, Ysabel, had told her to not give a damn and take the risk because it was worth it. What at fucking hypocrite she was… And it _was _worth it. She had been wandering around alone long enough. The thieves guild was as close to a home as she had ever gotten, and no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she cared deeply about this bunch of criminal lowlifes (not that she was anything different, 'hero' or not, she'd always be a thief at heart). And Bryn… She had given up counting the times when he'd gotten her out of the mess she'd been in. He didn't even seem to care how fucked up she was. He had light-heartedly given her the position as Guild Master and when she'd told him she needed to go away for a while he had accepted that without hesitation. She had no idea what he saw in her. She might have a pretty face if it weren't for the ugly scar on her cheek, not to mention those on her body that countless battles had made tough and hardy. She did have the suppleness of a cat, though, when it came to climbing up a balcony to break into a home or follow someone secretly by completely melting with the shadows of her surroundings. And she did have curves at the right places. Men definitively liked that.

Brynjolf, on the other hand, had looked out for her, watched her back and helped her without her even asking, long before he had shown _that _kind of interest, and for that, she thought very highly of him. If there was any bastion of calm in her life, it was him. For some reason, whatever had happened to her, she would always be drawn back to him at some point. He was _home_.

"Fine", she mumbled and plonked back down onto the mattress. "I'm sorry." Yes, she was definitely getting soft. "I promise, I won't talk about it anymore, if that's what makes you happy."  
Brynjolf simply put an arm around again. "Thank you." Once more, they laid there quietly for a while. Ysabel knew, she'd have to get up soon or she would fall asleep, but the bed in her small home was so comfortable and Bryn was just so _warm_…

"What I wanted to say before", she mumbled and shot him a glare, but he only twitched a corner of his mouth to a grin. "When all this is over, I think… you know, it might be time for me to settle down."

"Settle down, lass?" He turned his head to smirk at her teasingly and she fought the urge to smack him again. "With a husband and a bunch of children?"

"Wait_, what_?!" Children? Her eyes widened. Divines and Daedra… "I never said anything about children!" It earned her a dark, soft laughter from him. "Why not? You'd be a wonderful mother."

"Don't fucking tease me, Bryn. I swear, I drink too much, I can hardly take care of _myself_." He couldn't really be serious, could he? Then why was his smile so damn _tender_? He would be a great father, though, she thought. If anyone was able to take care of others, it was him. He was loving, caring and patient - the complete opposite of herself. He was basically babysitting the thieves guild, as things were. As frightening as the thought was, now she couldn't get the image out of her head of a small, red-haired child in his arms or maybe even in hers…

"And what about a husband…" His hand trailed a path over her waistline and came to rest on her hip which made it even more difficult for her to focus. "Don't lie to me, lass, I've seen the amulet of Mara in your wardrobe. A bit dusty, isn't it, but still…" Ysabel narrowed her eyes. "Why did you- Oh, I don't even want to know." She rolled over, with a sudden enthusiasm and cockiness, straddling him, with her hands on his shoulders pinning him down onto the bed. He rested his hands on her hips, an expectant glitter in his emerald eyes.

"So… what now?" She let her finger glide his chest to his navel, and grinned satisfied when his breath quickened. "Are we just hopping over to the Temple of Mara?" He gave a short and a bit breathless laugh. "I'm not sure the priests would be too fond of that, lass."

Ysabel smiled down at him, head tilted sideward a bit, her long curly hair falling down at the side like a curtain. Marriage had always seemed like something to formal for someone like her, and, anyway, why would you need a damn ring to tell someone you loved him? But now, for some reason, the thought of making it - whatever it was she and Bryn shared - official sounded appealing. "You know what", she said slowly after a moment, "I think I like the idea. But maybe I should crack Alduin's head open first. You know… to have that out of the way."

Bryn chuckled again and pulled her down into a kiss. "Sure, lass. One thing at a time."


End file.
